The Cupping Room Cafe in New York, NY

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I might have found my new favorite spot for brunch: The Cupping Room Café. Located in Soho, this spot combines a bar, a restaurant and a bakery. 

We arrived by the entrance on West Broadway and I thought that it was a tiny place, but then, they brought us to their main dining room, located passed the open kitchen. 

It is a warm place with a very rustic feel thanks to the tin ceiling, the brick walls and the antique pot belly stove proudly displayed I the back. 

Service was very nice, although a bit overwhelmed at times. 

So, you probably wonder why I think it is a great place? Well, as I mentioned earlier, it is a bakery, so a lot of items on their menu such as cakes, cookies, muffins are made on premises. Then, they have one of my favorite dish: eggs Benedict. But here, I am talking about customized eggs Benedict! You just pick what you want on it: salmon, fresh, not smoked, fresh tuna...This is the first time I go to a restaurant that offers that. So I decided to try and ordered the eggs Benedict with fresh salmon ($6 suppl.).

With it, I had a choice of fries, salad or fruits (for an additional $2). I went for the fruit salad, trying to keep it healthy...before dessert... I really like when restaurants propose fruits as a side, especially in the Summer. Regular salads? Too boring. Potatoes: not always good.

The eggs were perfectly cooked, the yolk being delightfully runny, and the salmon cooked as requested, rare and giving to the dish a new dimension. The only negative is that I would have preferred the fruits in a separate plate or a bowl as they soon foot submerged by the Hollandaise sauce.

Jodi got the cobb salad, without chicken and bacon.

Although there was a lot of it, it was way overpriced at $20.

So, this is a bakery, so we could not miss desserts. We therefore decided to go for their sampler that was a great deal for $8. 

The smiler was composed of:

Tiramisu:

Red velvet cake:

Brownie:

My favorite was definitely the brownie: it was heaven on a plate! It was very chocolatey, with the top being crunchy and the middle very moist. The tiramisu was very light and creamy. The red velvet: good, but nothing extraordinary for me.

With my brunch, I got a fresh squeezed orange juice that was not watered down:

And an espresso:

Although a little pricey, this is definitely a good place for brunch. If you go there, do not miss desserts!

Enjoy (I did)!

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Pierre Loti Wine Bar in New York, NY

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Pierre Loti is a wine bar with multiple locations across New York. In fact, I discovered that fact the hard way... We were supposed to meet for dinner in Chelsea where we had our reservation. I admit that I completely forgot it was in Chelsea and, before leaving work, simply entered the name of the restaurant in Google Map to get the directions. I ended up Irving Place, ten minutes earlier.

Pierre Loti in Irving Place

So I texted Jodi to let her know I was there and proceeded to take photos of the exterior of the restaurant. Soon after, I received a text from Jodi telling me that she would soon arrive, as she and our friends were across the street. I could not see them...Weird...I kept looking around wondering where they were, and, on her side, she went inside the restaurant to find me as I told her I already arrived and she could not see me outside. That is when we realized we were not at the same place! She was in the correct one, in Chelsea! It took me approximately 15 minutes to go there, promising that next time, I'll take the time to check the address.

The name of the restaurant is a tribute to the French novelist and naval officer (1850-1923), who published many novels throughout his travels around the world. 

It is a wine bar, so it is not surprising that they have an impressive wine list made of bottles not only from France, but also from Mediterranean countries such as Turkey, Italy or Spain. They also propose some American wines from California, if you prefer drinking local...

The menu is mediterranean inspired, with a bunch of small plates to share, cold or hot, making it a perfect place to dine with friends or for a quick bite and a glass of wine. That is where we met with our friends Livia & Georges and Letizia & Scott for dinner.  

We first ordered bottle of Bordeaux - Chateau Les Rambauds 2009:

As we were waiting for our appetizers, they served us some olives and pita, that are, I guess, a reference to Greece.

Then, we got our appetizers. The first one was the phyllo cheese rolls:

As we were six people, we ordered two. They were filled with feta and blue cheese. Although I barely tasted the blue cheese (probably because its taste was neutralized by the feta), I really liked it, the shell being crispy and the filling, a bit hot, being delicious.

The second appetizer was zucchini pancakes:

Served with a thick Turkish yogurt, it was delightfully greasy, a bit crispy and comforting. 

The last appetizer was the grilled octopus that was sautéed with baby potatoes and carrots in olive oil.

I did not like it at all: it was mushy and tasteless. So sad, I love octopus and was so happy to find people willing to share that dish with me!

Then, we all got our entrees:

Jodi went for the pan seared salmon. It was crusted with shredded wheat and served with sautéed vegetables (in that case, beets and carrots).

That was delicious, the crust adding some texture to a perfectly cooked salmon.

On my side, I got the grilled quail with mushroom risotto:

Cooking a quail is tough because it is so small that it is easy to overcook it and it will be awfully dry. At Pierre Loti, they succeeded to cooked it properly, the little bird being moist and succulent. However, I did not like the risotto. It was as if it was made with beer...weird!

Last, we decided to share some desserts. The first one was a chocolate cake that I recommend if you love chocolate.

The second one was a berry tart that was very refreshing:

We had a good time at Pierre Loti: the food and wine were good, and the service welcoming. We stayed there a while, chatting, and they did not even make us feel we had to leave. For all these reasons, I recommend this place.

Enjoy (I did)!



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O MAI in New York, NY

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O Mai is a Vietnamese restaurant located in the trendy Chelsea. It is a decent size place with a warm decor and an interesting menu with unique dishes that can satisfy any palate. We went there on a Friday night and the place was packed. This is definitely the place to go if you like loud music, loud people and barely no light to see your food...Fortunately, the cuisine is worth it: delicious and packed in flavors. Each dish has a name in Vietnamese and there is always an hesitation to give the original name or the main ingredient; should I ask for Ca Bam or monkfish? Bo Luc Lac or beef sirloin? I tried the original names of the dishes, making sure I was pointing them on the menu so there would not be any misunderstanding, and I am glad to report that we got the dishes we wanted...thanks to my finger...

We started with the crispy vegetarian rolls (Cha Gio). Nothing extraordinary there, but still, good rolls, a bit hot as just made.

Then, I could not resist to try their grilled calamari, served with cucumber, tomato, mixed greens and fresh herbs.

I love calamari and was not disappointed at all: it was perfectly cooked, not rubbery and very refreshing with the salad.

Then, Jodi ordered a tilapia served with some vermicelli noodles.

The fish was deliciously spicy, flakey and moist.

On my side, I ordered the sugar cane shrimp:

It is as if the shrimp was put in a blender to create a thick paste that was then put around a sugar cane stick, before being grilled.

It was sitting on a sort of rice net and served with a rice crepe. The way I ate it was by putting some mint leaves, peanut sauce, peanuts, onions and of course shrimp on the rice crepe, and then roll it. It was delicious: I was expecting some sweetness from the sugar cane, but did not taste any. The roll was packed in flavors, the mint giving some freshness to the dish.

Last was dessert. We decided to order the warm banana bread with Tahitian vanilla ice cream.

It was just ok; the banana bread being a bit too dry, it would have been better served with a creme anglaise.

This was a nice dinner and the service was very good. I love the food at O Mai: packed in flavors that are original and surprising. Would I go back? Sure!

Enjoy (I did)!



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Brunch at Montmartre in New York, NY

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Going to brunch with friends is always exciting. Not only because of the pleasure to see them, but also because we always try to make it a culinary experience. So, this time, we went to Montmartre, a French restaurant located in Chelsea, after our friend Gary read an article in NY Magazine that said that they had the best burger in town. Now, that's a statement and I could not wait to go there. 

If you never went to Paris, know that Montmartre is one of the famous areas there. Located on a hill, and topped by the Sacré Coeur basilica, it was the place where many artists like Salvador Dalí, Modigliani, Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso and Vincent van Gogh, had studios. Today, you can still see painters, but I admit that it is becoming mostly a touristy place, losing a bit of its charm.

So, the restaurant, that had been opened for more than one and a half year by Gabriel Stulman, is an ode to French cuisine...minus the burger..., but not only. There, Chef Tien Ho crafted a menu on its own, interpreting dishes with a French flair. For instance, the chicken and waffles becomes the poulet and pain perdu; and then the burger. 

Yes, it is not you regular burger, but more like a sandwich version of it, the bun being replaced by two slices of bread, grilled similar to a grilled cheese, and a béarnaise cheese, that is a fusion between béarnaise sauce and a cheese sauce, smothering the patty made of dry aged beef.

It looked very appetizing. The first bite was just bread as the shape of the patty did not espouse the shape of the bread.

The meat, perfectly cooked medium was juicy. However, it was no match to the one at 5 Napkin Burger, being less tasty.

The béarnaise cheese was a nice twist though and there was a nice amount of it.

Served with the burger were fries that were delicious: skin on, they were lightly salted and a bit crispy.

Jodi ordered the omelette:

Served with toast and some baby lettuce, it was filled with lots of oyster mushrooms, leeks and goat cheese. That was a very good omelette, not only because of the delicious filling, but also because the eggs were perfectly cooked, soft and not dry.

For dessert, they proposed us the clémentine pot de crème that was succulent.

 Nice presentation with the bowl matching the color of the clémentine. I liked it: they added some macadamia nuts for crunch and I really liked the fact that it was not too sweet, was fresh, making it the perfect Summer dessert.

For beverages, I, of course, got some espresso (yes, it is a double...):

And a fresh squeezed orange juice that was just ok, tasting a bit watered down.

Even if I do not think that the burger is not the best in New York City, I really liked the brunch at Montmartre. The service was very good and welcoming and the garden in the back is definitely a big asset.

I would not mind going back there, maybe for dinner in fact.

Enjoy (I did)!

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